Investing.com — Oil Prices Rise Amid Concerns

Oil prices rose Thursday due to fears that escalating conflicts in the Middle East could disrupt crude flows from this critical exporting region.

By 08:40 ET (12:40 GMT), U.S. crude futures increased by 2.2% to $71.61 a barrel, while Brent crude climbed 1.9% to $75.33 a barrel.

Crude Rises on Middle East Tensions

Crude benchmarks continue to rise as traders await Israel's response to Iran launching over 180 missiles into its territory, raising concerns of a targeted attack on Iranian oil infrastructure, impacting supplies from a senior OPEC member.

Analysts at ING noted, "There have been suggestions that Israel could target Iranian oil facilities, potentially pushing oil prices significantly higher depending on the attack's scale." They also highlighted that Iran exports approximately 1.7 million barrels per day, which could have a significant impact. However, attacking oil facilities may provoke the U.S., especially with elections approaching. A more limited response could focus on missile launch sites, whereas a severe escalation might involve targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.

OPEC+ Keeps Output Unchanged

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) met on Wednesday and recommended no change to its output policy. The group plans to increase output by 180,000 barrels per day each month starting in December. An OPEC+ source commented, "The only thing mentioned about the geopolitical situation and the conflict was the hope for non-escalation."

Despite having enough spare capacity to offset potential Iranian supply losses, much of this capacity is located in the Middle East Gulf region and could be vulnerable if the conflict escalates, according to UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

US Crude Inventories Rise – EIA

U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.9 million barrels to 417 million barrels for the week ending September 27, as reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), contrasting with expectations of a 1.3 million barrel decline.